Boxing: How dedicated Brook earned date with destiny

TOP trainer Dominic Ingle has told The Star America bound Kell Brook has exceeded all his expectations.

The Grenoside fighter takes on Devon Alexander for the IBF welterweight world title in Detroit next month.

The 26-year-old will put his perfect 29-0 (19 knockouts) record on the line against St Louis native Alexander at the Masonic Theatre on February 23.

Brook became hooked on the sport at the age of nine after walking through the doors of the Ingle’s Wincoback Gym. Ingle, who has previously worked with Johnny Nelson, “Prince” Naseem Hamed and Ryan Rhodes, feels Brook has earned his shot at the big time because of the hard yards he has put in the gym over the years.

“When you see the kids first walk through the door, you don’t look at them and think they are going to be world champion, even in the first few years of training Kell,” he said. “He kept under the radar for a few years and then he had his first couple of amateur fights and he lost so you didn’t think he was going to be fantastic.

“But the one thing you find about these kids is the way they stick at it. You walk into the gym and they will be one of the first ones there.

“Every time I came into the gym, Kell was one of the first faces you saw. If you walked into the gym one day and Kell wasn’t there, you would say ‘Where is Kell?’

“Once he was in the gym, Kell came religiously.”

“Even between the age of 13 and 14 when boys start getting interested in dating girls or going out partying with their mates down town, Kell just kept focusing on his amateur career and winning titles,” Ingle added.

Brook’s bout with Alexander was originally scheduled for today but had to be put back a month after he sustained an ankle injury before Christmas.

Did you know? Alexander is a southpaw, whose record reads 24-1. “I’m going over to his backyard but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” stressed Brook.